Beverages such as beer must be maintained at a sufficiently cool temperature in order to prevent excessive foaming of the beer when it is dispensed from the tap. Pressure-fed beer dispense systems typically include a glycol cooling system or cooling deck that cools the beer as it is transferred from the beer keg to the dispense point. The dispense point typically includes a dispense font or tower having a small reservoir to hold a quantity of the beverage to be dispensed. The tower itself may be cooled by the glycol cooling system wherein a glycol supply line circulates cooled glycol through or around the tower. The reservoir is replenished as the beverage is dispensed, since the beverage is under pressure from the keg.
It is preferable to minimize the distance between the beer keg and the dispense point. However, depending upon the layout of the particular establishment in which the beverage is to be dispensed, in many circumstances the beverage supply line must be cooled for a considerable distance. Glycol cooling systems include a glycol circulation loop, a refrigeration source, and one or more heat exchangers whereby the beverage supply line comes in contact with the glycol circulation loop. A glycol cooling system certainly adds to the expense of providing a cooled beverage. The most common glycol cooling systems are used for dispensing beer at establishments such as restaurants and bars.
It is common for the dispense tower to have a particular shape or style that corresponds to the brewer's commercial identity. In other words, the tower many include the trademarks/logos of the brewer and may be shaped and sized to reflect other commercial characteristics of the brewer. Thus, certain non-functional or aesthetic features may be added to the exterior surface of the dispense tower and beer tap with the intention of clearly associating the identity of the brewer with the beverage being dispensed from the tower. One feature that has been recently developed for dispense towers is the formation of ice on the beer tower itself. The glycol cooling system sufficiently cools the housing or shell of the dispense tower such that moisture in the atmosphere surrounding the beer tower condenses on the beer tower surface, and then ultimately freezes. Thus, the beer tower appears as a frozen mass.
One disadvantage to present frozen dispense towers is that the dispense towers must be integrated within the closed loop glycol cooling system. Therefore, the particular style or type of dispense tower that is in use at any particular location cannot be modified without disconnecting the glycol cooling line, redesigning/replacing the tower, and then reconnecting the glycol cooling line. Additionally, cooling of the dispense tower by the glycol cooling system also places additional demands on the glycol cooling system. Depending upon the length of the beverage supply line, the cooling capacity of the glycol cooling system, and the size of the dispense tower, the beverage may not be kept adequately cooled if the dispense tower must also be cooled.